coincidence

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcoincidenceco‧in‧ci‧dence /kəʊˈɪnsɪdəns $ koʊ-/ ●●○ noun1[countable, uncountable]TIME/AT THE SAME TIME when two things happen at the same time, in the same place, or to the same people in a way that seems surprising or unusual → coincide, coincidental‘I’m going to Appleby tomorrow.’ ‘What a coincidence! I’m going there too.’by coincidenceBy coincidence, John and I both ended up at Yale.sheer/pure coincidence (=completely by chance)It was sheer coincidence that we were staying in the same hotel.not a coincidence/more than coincidence (=not chance, but deliberate)I think it is more than coincidence that all the complaints have come from the same group of people.2[singular] formalSAME when two ideas, opinions etc are the samecoincidence ofa coincidence of interest between the mining companies and certain politiciansCOLLOCATIONSadjectivessheer/pure coincidence (=complete chance)It was pure coincidence that we were on the same plane.mere coincidence (=only chance and nothing else)Is it mere coincidence that they always seem to employ men?a happy/lucky/fortunate coincidenceIt was just a happy coincidence that he was there too.an unfortunate coincidenceBy a very unfortunate coincidence, she didn’t get either of his emails.a strange/curious coincidenceWhat a strange coincidence that you were both living in Bangkok at the same time.a remarkable/amazing/extraordinary coincidenceWhat an extraordinary coincidence meeting you here!phrasesit is a coincidence thatIt was a remarkable coincidence that two people with the same name were staying at the hotel.it is not a/no coincidence that (=it is deliberate)It is no coincidence that the Government made the announcement today. be more than (a) coincidence (=there is some other explanation)When I saw him a third time, I realized it was more than just coincidence.a string/series/set of coincidencesThe accident happened because of a string of unfortunate coincidences.